The Horszowski Trio
Jesse Mills (vln), Ole Akahoshi (vc), Rieko Aizawa (pno)

Baldwin Auditorium, Duke University
October 9, 2021

I. Light and precise
II. Shock, then patient and quiet (attacca), in memoriam C.G.L.

"T120" is cast in two movements. The first is inspired by the experience of travel, sometimes at high speeds, through varied terrains, surfaces, and weather conditions. When conditions are right, I experience exhilaration, lightness of spirit, and indescribable well-being. The music is an intricate lacework of rhythmic drones, patterned accents, and, eventually, melodic phrases that grow out of a rhythmic pattern that runs throughout the piece. The music is anchored by an ostinato played at the outset by the violin that repeats every eleven beats, an asymmetrical phrase length that gently toys with our expectations. The asymmetry is amplified at first: downbeats are de-emphasized, accents appear seemingly at random (though they are all strictly patterned), and other rhythmic figures are superimposed in ways that disguise clear points of reference. This texture unfolds quietly and delicately, purposeful but unsettled. Later, the music becomes more grounded. The rhythmic patterns are embedded in shimmering piano figuration while the violin and cello explore their newfound melodic and rhythmic freedom, leading to an improvisatory violin solo complemented by jazzy piano comping. The cello then takes its turn, offering singing melodies that gradually intensify until all three instruments dive into exuberant music that comprises the long-awaited destination. 

The second movement was not part of my original plan, but it came to me quickly and to me felt like a necessary counterbalance to the calculated design of the first movement. This movement is a meditation on a series of personal losses. An excerpt from a review by A.O. Scott of the film The Irishman captures the feeling beautifully:
"... but part of a deeper, sadder lesson that has to do with the inevitability of loss. The loss of life, yes, but also the erosion of meaning that accompanies the fading of experience into memory and memory into nothing."

T120 for piano trio (2021)

This is a piece for 15 instruments dating from my 20's when I was a ferocious modernist/post-minimalist.  The rhythms,  orchestration, and formal design are all based on quasi-random numbers.   After the premiere I thought the piece was unplayable, so I made a MIDI transcription of the chamber ensemble score and added a Pierrot ensemble to play newly composed music along with the electronics.  Then, in 1993, the Netherlands Wind Ensemble performed the original version at the Holland Festival, and what do you know, everything worked just as I thought it would.  Not sure what lesson to learn here, because the compact version for Pierrot + tape got played quite a bit back in the 80's and 90's, whereas the large ensemble version hasn't been played since that magical evening in Amsterdam.  The recording quality is poor because it was transferred from an old cassette tape.

Relations To Rigor (1986)

Stomp was a 60th birthday present for Jacob Druckman, with whom I studied as a graduate student at Yale in the early 1980s.  It is an agile piece for 10 instruments that is comprised of short rhythmic/melodic gestures that are passed from one group of instruments to the next at a breakneck pace.  There are several affectionate attempts to channel Druckman's incredible feel for instrumentation in this work, though the chipper (or rather frantic) character is all my own.  This performance dating from 1992 took place at Tanglewood under the direction of Brad Lubman.  You'll have to excuse the recording quality -- it's a transfer from an old cassette tape.

Stomp (1988)

Recollections was composed for Susan Fancher and the Ciompi Quartet.  It is a prelude to a longer work for the same musicians called Schley Road.  Recollections was premiered on April 7, 2023.

Recollections

"Souvenirs" is scored for flute, violin, viola, and cello and is cast in three movements.  The first and third movements take a fragment another piece of music as a seed around which I compose another piece of music.  Don't be fooled, the "source" piece is not obvious.  The middle movement uses a pattern of permutations based on "Queneau numbers" to structure phrase lengths.  

"Souvenirs" was commissioned by Electric Earth Concerts and was premiered by Laura Gilbert (fl), Nicholas DiEugenion (vln), Jonathan Bagg (vla), and Raman Ramakrishnan (cello).

"Souvenirs" for Flute Quartet

Commissioned and premiered by Doug Martin and the Langley High School Band Association as part of the school's 50th year celebration.   I haven't written for a high school group since, well, high school.  My music isn't easy to play, but this is an amazing performance by an excellent ensemble with a very talented conductor.  

Eternity's Sunrise (2015)- Langley HS Wind Symphony

"The Dolphins" is a contribution to the AIDS Quilt Songbook.  The text, by Richard Harteis, is sung by the incomparable Susan Narucki accompanied by J.J. Pena at the Norfolk Festival.

The Dolphins (1995)

Quartet (1994)

A performance of my String Quintet by the Ciompi Quartet with cellist Ashley Bathgate.  The concert took place at Duke in Baldwin Auditorium on Sept. 11, 2015.

String Quintet (2013)

A marvelous performance of "Cadences" by Scott Lindroth with a prelude drawn from Richard Powers' book "Orfeo," read by the author.  The musicians are Jesse Mills (vln), Laura Gilbert (fl), Ben Fingland (cl), Raman Ramakrishnan (vc), Jonathan Bagg (vla), and Rieko Aizawa (pno).   The performance took place in Baldwin Auditorium at Duke University on Sept. 25, 2016.

Much of the music is based on speech rhythms derived from the text in "Orfeo."  These are subjected to permutations and other variations to create new utterances as the piece unfolds. 

A video of the performance on September 25, 2016 with Richard Powers reading can be seen here:
https://youtu.be/M2hbTMTV7Q0

Cadences (2016)

for Symphonic Band

Commissioned by the American Bandmasters Association and here performed by the U.S. Marine Band ("The President's Own") under the direction of Capt. Michelle Rakers at the ABA National Conference in Norfolk, VA in March 2011.

Performance materials available from the composer.

Passage (2010)

Second movement of my String Quartet (1997) performed by the Ciompi Quartet at Duke University

String Quartet (1997) - movement 2

for Wind Ensemble
Performed by the University of Michigan Wind Ensemble under the direction of Michael Haithcock.

Spin Cycle (2001)

Performed by Adam Sliwinski at Yale School of Music.

Bell Plates (2002) - percussion solo and tape

An unbelievable recording by Curtis MacComber and Veronica Macchia-Kadlubkiewicz

Duo for Violins (1990)

for orchestra

The Illiad, Book 12, translated by Richard Lattimore

And they, as storms of snow descend to the ground incessant
on a winter day, when Zeus of the counsels, showing
before men what shafts he possesses, brings on a snowstorm
and stills the winds asleep in the solid drift, enshrouding
the peaks that tower among the mountains and the shoulders out-jutting,
and the low lands with their grasses, and the prospering work of men's
hands, and the drift falls along the grey sea, the harbours and beaches,
and the surf that breaks against it is stilled, and all things elsewhere
it shrouds from above, with the burden ofZeus' rain heavy upon it;
so numerous and incessant were the stones volleyed from both sides,
some thrown on Trojans, others flung against the Achaeans
by Trojans, so the whole length of the wall thundered beneath them.

January Music (1993)

A very old piece -- my first orchestral work.  This is a public reading after 25 minutes of rehearsal.

The recording is transferred from a cassette tape, so the sound quality is not great.

A Fire's Bright Song (1981/1987)

A wonderful performance by the Langley High School Wind Symphony  conducted by Doug Martin.  Doug commissioned Eternity's Sunrise and premiered it with his ensemble back in 2015, and it is so gratifying that he and his students (some of whom performed in the premiere) have taken the piece up again.  Bravo!

Eternity's Sunrise

World premiere of "Alarm Calls" by the UNCG Wind Ensemble under the direction of John Locke.  The concert took place at Aycock Auditorium during the CBNDA National Conference on March 22, 2013. 

Fasten your seatbelts.  This is a hair-raising (and amazing) performance of an intricate piece.

Alarm Calls (2012)

I am a composer, a Professor of Music at Duke University.  Performance materials for all pieces available for purchase.  See my Duke website for more examples of my music.

Scott Lindroth

Pinned to spotlight

Popular tracks